War And Remembrance Artist Salutes Desert Storm With Paintings And Donations To Red Cross.

July 14, 1991|By ELIZABETH LEIBA, Staff Writer

American bombers zoom overhead, leaving a colorful but destructive trail across the desert. A ship fires a missile as the American flag flies in the backround.

The painting, We are the Thunder and Lighting of Desert Storm, is one of four Desert Storm works by Fort Lauderdale artist Bob Jenny. Prints of the paintings are being offered for sale nationwide for $149.95, with $10 of each sale going to the American Red Cross.

Jenny hopes the Red Cross will receive up to $1 million from the sales.

Red Cross officials in Washington, D.C., said the money will go to provide emergency information service and other services to U.S. military personnel and their families.

The military`s emergency information service relays information about births, deaths, and serious family illness to ground units and ships.

Terry Johnson, a representative of the Red Cross, said that she had high hopes for the venture.

``I thought it was an unusual offer, but I think the paintings will be nice reminders,`` Johnson said.

``The war should never have happened.`` Jenny said ``But for an instant I hope they`ll look at the painting and feel proud about the people -- not just the military, but the people at home.``

When Jenny came to Florida 30 years ago, he had no intention of becoming an artist.

But after painting a mural inside a friend`s house, he began to get requests and his work became well-known, not only in the Fort Lauderdale area, where several of his works are displayed, but nationally.

``I never thought of art as a career,`` Jenny said. ``It was always something I just did.``

His murals in the Fort Lauderdale area include a 230-by-17 foot mural in Broward General Medical Center`s pediatrics ward and a 60-by-11 foot mural at Harbordale Elementary School.

His murals also adorn buildings on Las Olas Boulevard: Mario`s Restaurant, the Riverside Hotel and the Flower Shop.

Jenny described his murals as pleasant backdrops that can beautify a wall or building. But he felt his Desert Storm paintings were much more serious and meaningful.

While completing the paintings, Jenny listened to tapes of Desert Storm news broadcasts for inspiration.